Not All Treasure is Silver and Gold
by accioweasleys4
Summary: Fred plans on proposing to Hermione. It doesn't go as smooth as he originally planned thanks to George though. AU because Fred lives after the war.


**A/N: This was written for the Stretch Your Boundaries Competition. The title was from Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm sure this could be for other competitions and challenges as well, but I'll figure out which ones later. Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

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Fred had decided to plan a surprise dinner for Hermione for their one-year anniversary. They had been dating since the war ended, and he was pleased with how well they connected. He liked Hermione since he was seventeen, though he was afraid that he lost his chance when she told him she was going on a mission with Ron and Harry. The war could've separated them, but it didn't. He was grateful for that.

He wasn't being very grateful right now though, because George had just announced that he lost Fred's engagement ring.

"You what?" Fred snapped at his twin.

"I'm sorry!" George blurted out. He looked panicked, but Fred felt no sympathy toward him at the moment. A majority of his savings had just gone down the drain, literally.

"I know I was supposed to keep that ring so Hermione wouldn't find it. But I couldn't resist showing it to Luna. You know I can't keep secrets from her. It just slipped-" George was interrupted by Fred.

"Down the drain," Fred said in a hollow voice. He buried his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry," George repeated. This time he sounded like he meant it, so Fred lifted his head and sighed.

"I know you didn't mean it," Fred said quietly. "I should've kept that ring myself, but you know how I am about losing things. I'll figure something out." George continued to look upset, so Fred patted his shoulder. "I still love you," he assured him. A part of him may have wanted to kill George, but Fred could never stay mad at his twin for too long. George nodded in response, but he still looked doubtful.

Fred looked at the time and saw that he had to finish cooking dinner. He wasn't really much of a cook, but he decided to cook bouillabaisse soup for Hermione since he remembered that she liked French food. George had offered to help him, though Fred now knew that had been out of guilt. George knew his way around the kitchen more than he did though, so he was grateful for that.

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George finally left and Fred began setting the table and lighting the candles. He wanted everything to be perfect when Hermione arrived, even though he knew it wasn't completely perfect. He couldn't stress about that now.

Hermione finally arrived from work a half an hour later. She smiled at him when she walked through the door and sniffed the air. "Mmm, something smells good!" she said happily.

Fred winked at her. "Always the tone of surprise," he scolded her teasingly as he took off her coat for her. She laughed at the line. They both knew that she used that on Ron a few times, and he couldn't resist using it sometimes either.

Hermione pretended to check out the kitchen. "Wow, I'm impressed. You didn't burn down the kitchen."

"I'm not that bad of a cook. That would be Ron," Fred said jokingly. Ron did tend to set things on fire when he tried to help their mother cook, so she stopped asking Ron to help her cook all together.

He ushered her to the table and quickly started putting the food into dishes. He realized that Hermione was watching him suspiciously. "You're up to something," she said finally after a few minutes.

"Who, me? I just wanted to cook for my girlfriend for our one-year anniversary. I know, I know we agreed not to go overboard," he added quickly when he saw her face. "But I still wanted to do something."

Hermione got up from her chair slowly. "Well, can I do something to help you then? You know I hate feeling useless."

Fred motioned her to sit down. "No, I've got it under control. You can have some wine if you want though."

He brought out the food, and Hermione gave him a surprised look. "Bouillabaisse? How did you know that I liked that?"

"I'm a man of mystery," Fred said proudly. Hermione kept giving him a look as he served her food, and he sighed. "All right. I overheard you say that you liked that in my sixth year. The year of the Triwizard Tournament," he added.

"That was a long time ago," Hermione said slowly.

Fred shrugged. "I think I may have liked you then."

"You think?" Hermione asked him playfully.

"Ok, I know I liked you then. I was just too chicken to ask you out."

She grinned and reached for his hand when he sat down. "It's all right. We're here together now. That's all that matters."

He nodded. "How was work today, love?"

"Tiring. Long. I wish we could just take a vacation and leave everything behind sometime."

"Well, we can whenever you want to. I do own my own shop. I'd have to talk it over with George, and you'd have to get time off work. We should definitely plan it!" Hermione looked happier at that news, which made him pleased as well. He told her how his day was when they began eating.

Fred kept watching her quietly. He really was grateful that they were together after all this time still. That thought made him wish that he didn't have to wait to propose to her. After all, the heart has reasons that reason does not understand. (Jaques Benigne Bossuel). This thought caused him to get another idea. He didn't have to have a ring in order to propose to her, did he? He could just propose to her now and get another ring later…he had her father's permission after all.

"Hermione?" He asked her quietly.

She gave him a quizzical look. "Yes, Fred?"

He started feeling nervous, so he ran a hand through his hair. Could he really do this? He got up and slowly walked over. He placed both of her hands in his and looked down as he got down on one knee.

Fred heard her gasp when he got down, but she didn't pull away from him. This gave him courage. He tried to think of a quick way to sum up how he felt about her, but he couldn't think of a good way. He wasn't good at speeches. He lightly traced her arms and looked up at her. " I know I'm supposed to have a speech ready, but…I love you. I love how you're patient with me, I love how you laugh at my pranks..I love how you make me feel. Will you marry me?"

Another gasp escaped from her. Fred wasn't sure what that meant, but she started grinning and he saw that tears were in her eyes. She nodded quickly and threw her arms around him. "Yes, I'll marry you."

"Seriously?" Fred asked her quickly, to be sure that he heard her right.

She pressed her lips against his to kiss him to confirm her answer. "I have no idea what I'm getting myself into right now, but yes. Seriously."

He beamed as he got up and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry I don't have a ring… I had one, but…" his voice trailed off. He might as well tell her the truth since he didn't like keeping things from her. "I gave it to George for safe keeping and…he lost it. I'm sorry. I'll get you another ring."

Hermione moved closer to him and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I don't need a ring to prove that I've got you." She pulled him toward her and kissed him again before he could answer. He vowed to get another anyway.

* * *

When Fred woke up the next morning, he saw the ring sitting on his nightstand with a note attached next to it. He smiled to himself when he read the note. "I found the ring when you went to bed last night. I'm sorry for losing it. I hope this makes up for that. George." Fred had already forgiven his twin for losing the ring in the first place, but he was glad that he could still surprise Hermione with it. Sometimes things worked out for the best.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Yes, I know this is another fluffy Fremione fic. :D I hope you liked it. Please leave a review! **


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